Climate Migration Panel on December 2

E2Tech and PassivhausMAINE Explore How Climate Migration is Shaping the Future of Maine — December 2 in Freeport

The Environmental & Energy Technology Council of Maine (E2Tech) and passivhausMAINE are joining forces to present Climate Migration in Maine, a timely discussion on how population shifts driven by climate change are reshaping Maine’s housing, economy, and communities. The event will take place at the new passivhausMAINE headquarters, 35 Main Street in Freeport, on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, from 4:30 to 7:30 PM.

The evening will feature a data-driven presentation by Laura Yeitz from the Office of the State Economist, followed by a panel conversation with leaders representing diverse perspectives across affordable housing, innovation, development and immigration. Panelists include Jonathan Culley (Redfern Properties), Gunnar Hubbard (Roux Institute’s Climate Tech Incubator), Phoenix McLaughlin (Maine Department of Economic & Community Development), Laura Mitchell (Maine Affordable Housing Coalition), and Jacky Mugwaneza and Panagioti Tsolkas (Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition).

“Maine stands at a unique crossroads. We’re both vulnerable to and seen as a refuge from the effects of climate change,” said Dori Lam, Program Director at passivhausMAINE. “By bringing together data, policy and community voices, this event invites an honest, forward-looking conversation about how Maine can adapt while upholding its values of equity and sustainability.”

“As the effects of climate change are felt across the country and the world, even more people are going to say, it’s finally time we moved to Maine,” said Orion Breen, Executive Director at E2Tech. “If we don’t plan properly, it is the people of Maine, their children and their grandchildren who will likely become migrants as housing scarcity reinforces an affordability crisis. We must find ways to work together to turn scarcity into abundance so we can have affordable and sustainable housing, energy and communities.” 

"E2Tech is focused on issues pertaining to the environment, energy, and clean technology in the state of Maine: all things that are greatly impacted by climate change and migration to the state,” said Elisabeth Bialosky, Operations Manager at E2Tech. “Maine has a unique opportunity to provide sustainable housing and grow our state economy through actions like green workforce development and expanding affordable housing initiatives. We are showcasing this program to demonstrate the various perspectives on the economic data, status of climate migration, and how we can work together as a state to support such a timely and inevitable need."

Moderated by passivhausMAINE and E2Tech, the discussion will highlight how Maine’s built environment, policy frameworks, and community planning efforts must evolve in response to climate-driven migration. Tickets are $50 for phME & E2Tech members and $65 for the general public, light refreshments are included. For more information, please visit https://passivhausmaine.org/climate-migration

Laura Yeitz serves as Data Communication Specialist for the Office of the State Economist (OSE). In this capacity, she collaborates closely with the State Economist to facilitate the accessibility of economic and demographic data, analysis, visualizations, and trends to a diverse audience, with a specific emphasis on expanding public access to demographic data. Her role includes website maintenance for the OSE, the creation of data visualizations and communications tailored for both internal and external audiences, and active involvement in advising senior executive leadership on research findings and analytical outcomes for informed policy development.  

Jonathan Culley, Managing Partner, co-founded Redfern Properties in 2005. Redfern is a Portland-based multi-family housing developer with nearly 1,000 housing units constructed.  Prior to Redfern Properties, Jonathan was a Senior Associate at Boeing Ventures in Seattle.  Jonathan is the past Board Chair of Avesta Housing, the largest nonprofit affordable housing provider in Northern New England. He also serves on the Boards of the Quality Housing Coalition, Waynflete School, and Hearts of Pine SC, of which he is a Founding Partner.  Jonathan holds an A.B. and an M.B.A., both from Duke University.  

Gunnar Hubbard is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at The Roux Institute's Climate Tech Incubator in Portland. Gunnar is an architect, entrepreneur, and sustainability leader with over 30 years of global experience who founded Fore Solutions—a pioneering green building consultancy acquired by Thornton Tomasetti, where he led their global sustainability practice for 22 years. As both a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and LEED Fellow, he has shaped sustainability strategies across continents on projects ranging from Brooklyn's 69-story Alloy Development to 158 LEED for Existing Buildings in Sweden for Vasakronan to Shanghai's five-million-square-foot International Financial Center.  

Laura Mitchell is the Executive Director of the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition, bringing 15 years of leadership experience across nonprofit, business, and public sectors. With a background in resource economics and policy, she has worked in housing, economic development, and public health, and now leads statewide efforts to address Maine’s housing crisis. Having spent part of her childhood in public housing, Laura brings a personal passion and lived perspective to her work, recognizing that safe, affordable housing is the foundation for health and economic stability. She is committed to advocacy that drives meaningful, positive change for Maine people.   

Panagioti Tsolkas joined the Maine Immigrants Rights Coalition as Communications Manager this year. He brings experience from decades of activism and movement-building for human rights, ecological protection, and environmental justice, working as a statewide coordinator for the civic engagement program of the Florida Immigrant Coalition as well as an editor for the Earth First! Journal and Prison Legal News publications. He previously served as co-chair of the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition and Executive Committee member of the Loxahatchee Sierra Club group.  

Jacky Mugwaneza serves as Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition's Multicultural Relations Lead. and brings professional experience with corporate to nonprofit organizations, including over a decade of leadership in developing and managing programs. She is a Certified Professional Banker (CPB) with a Bachelors’ Degree in Law, and speaks 5 languages. Her focus has been on financial empowerment for women and girls, drawn from her personal life experience. 

The Environmental & Energy Technology Council of Maine (E2Tech) is the state’s leading energy, environmental, and clean technology business and economic development organization. E2Tech is a catalyst, a change agent, and a resource center that strives to promote Maine companies, support their robust and sustainable acceleration, and help them compete in national and global markets. E2Tech members include electric utilities and renewable energy companies, manufacturers, environmental engineers, emerging entrepreneurs, innovators and designers, as well as government agencies, educational institutions, and non-profits.